My neighbor's orchid bloomed and I felt like a total fake

I've been calling myself a plant person for 5 years but this lady on my block in Phoenix has a phalaenopsis that rebloomed 3 times. Made me realize I just buy new ones when they drop flowers instead of actually caring for them. Anyone else feel like an impostor with certain plants?

3 comments

3 Comments

wyatt_green311mo ago

Different approach - buying new ones keeps you in the plant game, nothing fake about that. You're still surrounding yourself with greenery, just doing it your own way. The real fakes are people who don't try at all, right?

graygonzalez1mo ago

Buying new plants definitely keeps things fresh, but doesn't that mean you're kind of starting over from square one every time? Seems like you'd miss out on the whole satisfaction of watching something you brought back from the brink thrive again. Are you ever tempted to try saving just one struggling plant to see if the effort changes your mindset?

the_tessa1mo ago

Phoenix is rough on orchids, so give yourself some credit... I've been there with the whole buying-new-plants thing. What finally worked for me was getting a humidifier right next to my phals and putting them in a south window with a sheer curtain. You can mimic that reblooming cycle by giving them a 10-15 degree temperature drop at night for a few weeks in the fall. Also, watering with distilled water made a huge difference for me, no more brown leaf tips or bud blast. It's not hard once you figure out the right spot in your house, it just takes some trial and error.